10 Cloud Predictions For 2012

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In 2011, the idea of the social enterprise started to gel. Heralded by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as a revolution and hyped by other cloud players like Google, the groundwork was laid for social cloud. And in 2012, that momentum will create a snowball effect through which companies will rely more heavily on social elements in their cloud ecosystems, whether that means internal social networks, the ability to add social capabilities to cloud applications or any number of advancements that can come from bringing a Facebook-style into business walls.

"Marketwise, we're super early with social enterprise. But in our customers it's a very frequent conversation. Companies are asking: How can we use things like this internally? It's a confusing place where people are looking for clarity. But now they're convinced it's not science fiction," said Narinder Singh, co-founder and chief strategy officer for San Mateo, Calif.-based cloud solution provider Appirio.

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Ingram Micro executive vice president and Americas group president Paul Bay says rather than focus on technology and its delivery, Ingram Micro today is all about the business outcome the channel needs to deliver.